Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone
(SEEPZ) is a Special Economic Zone in Mumbai, India. Situated in the Andheri East area, it is subjected to liberal
economic laws as compared to the rest of India to promote rapid
economic growth using tax and business incentives and attract
foreign investment and technology[1].
Seepz was created in 1973 and was seen as export processing
zone[2]. Since
then many other SEZ’s have been created in rest of India. SEEPZ
mainly houses Software Companies and jewellery exporters of
India. More than 40 percent of India’s total jewelry exports
($2,222.31 million) out of $5,210.69 million during year 2006-2007
came from units within SEEPZ[3].
Despite its name, it is not located near the suburb of Santacruz, rather it is located closer to
Andheri that lies further north.

The dilapidated church inside SEEPZ

Contents

Profile

More than 150 units operate in SEEPZ. Prominent companies that
have offices within Seepz include: Renaissance Jewellery Ltd,
Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Vaibhav Gems Ltd, D’damas for Jewelry. IT
Companies include Blue Star Infotech Ltd, Thirdware, Patni Computer Systems, Polaris Software Lab
Limited, Tata Consultancy Services,
Geodesic Limited, Trigyn Technologies Limited, Syntel Limited etc.., Buildings in SEEPZ are
called Standard Design Factories(SDF)[1].
The SEZ is a high security entry zone. Employees of various
companies need to have permanent SEEPZ gate pass to gain entry.
Visitors need special permits to enter[4]. Due to
these hassles government proposed making SEEPZ a Free Trade Zone(FTZ) in 1999. However, gate
pass and visitor pass rules continue till date. Making SEEPZ a FTZ
meant that it would be treated as outside the customs zone of
India. This meant no excise or customs
duty will be levied on raw material but companies would also
not be able to sell their products in domestic market[5].There
are also Hotels like Indian Coffee House which is quite
popular.

Crimes

Due to its business importance and high concentration of work
force SEEPZ has remained the prime target of criminals and
terrorists. A high profile case occurred in 1999 when diamonds worth Rs. 10 crore (US$ 2.06 million) and
gold worth Rs. 39 lakh (US$ 80,300) were
smuggled out and sold in local market [6]. After
the 28 July
2003 Mumbai Bus Bombing major stockpile of explosives was also
found near SEEPZ[7]. Women
employees working in SEEPZ during the night shifts are entitled to
to-and-fro transport facility from home to office from their
employers[8].